


847 miles

by deathbychai



Category: The Avengers RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hiddlesworth, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-06
Updated: 2012-06-26
Packaged: 2017-11-09 21:35:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathbychai/pseuds/deathbychai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by vanceasstrovik's Hiddlesworth mechanic AU gifset (who keeps changing her tumblr username so you can find it reblogged on mine)</p><p>http://alittlegreyfish.tumblr.com/post/24561984725/small-town-mechanic-au-a-strangers-car-breaks</p><p>Tom drives into a small town, his car breaks down, and he meets Chris...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

As Tom drove along the desert road, he idly strummed his fingers along the steering wheel. About two hundred miles back, he had grown weary of listening to the same few tracks of "Rain Dogs" on the cassette player. Tom had an audition out in Santé Fe and had insisted on driving out from Los Angeles. Luke had protested fiercely, saying that he should fly like any normal person. After a couple of quick taps on his iPhone, Tom had refuted that the drive was only thirteen hours and he had an old buddy in Los Angeles that could lend him a car. Besides, he had always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and it would be a great break from the bustle of the metropolitan life. Luke had reluctantly given Tom his blessing after a long-suffering sigh and a muttered comment that he should be thankful that Tom at least had not wanted to make the journey on foot.

The drive was certainly beautiful. He had decided to take a week and be able to explore the surroundings. He figured it was as good of a chance as any to practice his American accent as well. The sweeping canyons flanked the I-40 interstate with the roads sharply punctuated by cacti stabbing their arms fiercely upwards. He shifted his long legs for surely the hundredth time. He had already gone to see the Grand Canyon and had crossed the border into New Mexico some time ago. It looked like he was going to make it into Santé Fe with plenty of time to spare. Maybe he would even have a chance to visit the home of Georgia O'Keefe.

Just as he thought this, the car gave a concerning sputter. Tom cautiously slowed down but kept driving. Unfortunately, this small concession was inadequate. The car backfired loudly and puttered to a stop with smoke starting to billow out in ominous curtains from under the hood. Tom climbed out of the car to take a closer look. As he approached the front and propped the hood open, he realized that he was completely out of his element. Ancient Greek, check. Period dances, check. Ability to fix a car? A resolute no. 

Years of living in the city meant that he seldom had to drive, much less ever have to troubleshoot how to fix a car. Thinking back, Tom remembered seeing a sign about 10 miles ago for "Bluewater: 25 miles." Well, he was just regretting not having gotten the chance to go jogging in a while. Now was as good of a time as any. He grabbed his laptop and other valuables, threw them in the boot, and locked it. He tightened his sneakers and took off down the road.

Around two hours of jogging later, he reached the small town of Bluewater and small was definitely the correct descriptor. He walked towards a cheerfully decorated diner and opened the door. A startlingly wholesome looking teenager immediately greeted him. She was wearing a red-white striped uniform with a hat in her hair. It was like Tom had stepped back several decades in time. With what he hoped was a charming smile and his best imitation of an American accent, Tom brushed his hair back with his right hand and asked, "Um, excuse me? I ran into some car troubles and my car broke down about fifteen miles back..."

She gave him a concerned look and exclaimed, "Goodness! Did you walk all this way? Let me get you a glass of water at least!" 

When she returned, Tom gratefully took the water and asked, "So is there a mechanic in town?"

Her face creased into a flicker of a frown before she nodded and said, "Yeah. There's a guy about half a mile down the road. He's not really an official mechanic but he's always tinkering with his truck, and I'm sure he could help out if you really needed it... The nearest real mechanic is two towns away."

"Great. So could you direct me to where he is?"

She made a funny little moue with her face again and hesitated. 

"Ehm, sorry. Am I missing something?"

"Well, the thing is, he's...not exactly the friendliest, but I'm sure it'll be fine. This is an emergency, right?" 

She escorted Tom to the front of the store and pointed him down the street, "You want to go about a half a mile down the street. He's got a red-colored house on the right side of the street, and he'll probably be in the driveway fixing his truck anyways. You can tell him that Wendy, that's me, sent you, but I'm not sure it would help any."

Tom thanked her and sighed as he started down the road. Maybe Luke had been right. This was rapidly becoming much more effort than fun, though there was no real way to anticipate that the car would break down. The sun was just starting to set as Tom came up to the red house. There was indeed a truck sitting in the driveway, and he heard the sound of a lawn mower from the side of the house. Tom followed his ears and stopped in his tracks as he turned around the bushes. The guy he was looking for was mowing the lawn shirtless, with sweat glistening off his back as he pushed the mower forward. Where Tom had lanky cords of muscle, this guy looked more like a brick shithouse. Clearing his throat, Tom said, "Sorry! Excuse me?" to absolutely no avail. 

Walking a little closer and cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, "Hello? Excuse me!!"

The guy whirled around and fixed Tom with a suspicious look. Leaning over to turn off the lawn mower (and affording Tom a very nice view), he then straightened and walked over to Tom. "Yeah. What do you want?"

"Well um, I was driving through to Santé Fe and uhhh, my car broke down a few miles back," Tom squirmed out under his hostile stare, "And when I went into the diner, they said that you were good with cars. Um..so I'd be happy to uh, pay you whatever you think is fair, but I really need to get my car fixed so I can get back on the road, because there's an audition that I need to get to in Santé Fe, but it's not for a few days and uhhhh.... ehehehe. Sorry, I tend to ramble..."

With a casual shrug, the guy said, "Sure. I guess I can take a look. Where is it?"

Tom responded with a beaming smile, "Great! I'm Tom. The car is about fifteen miles back..."

At which, the guy started walking promptly to his car. Tom had to stretch his legs to keep up with his fast pace. He seldom encountered people his height, much less taller. "Ehm, as I was saying, uh, it's about fifteen miles back... and uh..."

"Yeah. Heard you. We should get it before the sun goes down. Name's Chris."

As they walked over, Chris grabbed an oil smudged white shirt from the back of his pickup and threw it on. Tom had to wryly admit to himself that he was sorry for the loss of the view. They climbed into Chris' truck in silence, and Tom directed them back the way that they came. They came across his car along the side of the road, and Chris hopped out to look at the car. "Huh. You just left the hood open."

"Ehehe. I mean, I wasn't sure what to do and it was billowing smoke so I thought it'd be good for it to ehh...air out? It looked about as angry as Mount Vesuvius when I first got out."

To Tom's surprise, Chris chuckled. "You mean like the volcano? That's a bit overdramatic."

Chris leaned over the hood and poked around inside a bit. "Well, it looks like the problem is with your fan belt. That's not too bad. I can tow you back to my place and order you a new part. It'll probably take a couple days to arrive and I can take a look around your car to see if there are any other problems too in the meantime."

"Oh no. I mean, I don't need to get that much further. If it's just the fan belt, then there's really no need to put you out and look at the rest of the car."

"Well, you never know with these older clunkers. And I don't mind anyways. Cars are fun. And they make sense, unlike people." Chris stood up, wiping his hands casually on his jeans. "Well, let's get this tied up and get back to mine."

Chris had climbed into Tom's car, fiddled around a bit, and before Tom knew it, they were back on the road with his car safely in tow. They settled back into a restful silence. After having driven for several hundred miles by himself, it was nice to have the company of another person, even if said person was hardly talkative. Still, the silence felt comfortable, like the silence one lapses into with an old mate rather than the awkward quiet staccatoed by anxious throat clearing of strangers and new acquaintances.

"So, mate. It's going to take a couple days."

"Oh ok. Um, I'm sure there's a hotel or something in town I can stay in."

"There isn't. There's a motel down the road another twenty some miles but since your car is out of commission," Chris said with a casual jerk of his thumb towards Tom's woeful car following in the back, "you can just stay with me if you want."

Tom had a second of startled silence before exclaiming, "Oh no! I couldn't put you out like that anyways. Besides, don't you live with a girlfriend or something? It looks like a very large house. And I'd feel terrible. I'm sure I could find somewhere else to stay if I needed to."

Chris turned to look at Tom with a confused expression on his face, "Wait. Did you just sound British?"

"Uhm, yes. I'm actually from the UK but I'm an actor so I've been practicing my American accent," Tom sheepishly admitted.

"Huh. Well yeah. You did mention something about auditions. Anyways, yeah. Live by myself. It's my dad's old house but you're welcome to stay with me while we're waiting for that part. I can order it online when we get back. Shouldn't take too long."

"Aren't you scared that I'm some kind of creepy randomer?"

Chris chuckled again and Tom couldn't help but smile in response. "No offense but even if you were, I'm sure I could take you." Chris gave Tom a goofy smile that made his insides flop and jokingly flexed a bicep.

"Well, if you insist, that would really help out..."

"Great. It's settled." And they drove the rest of the way back to the house in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

The quiet of the house was punctuated only by the sound of the faint click-clack of computer keys and the crickets chirping outside. Chris turned around with a smile. “All set. Should take three to four days. That ok?”

“Yeah. That’s fine. Should be enough time for me to still make my audition. Thanks so much again for all your help. Ehm, will you at least let me cook dinner for you or something as appreciation for letting me stay?”

Chris looked startled by his offer before ruefully shaking his head. “You’re welcome to try, but my kitchen is slim pickings.” They walked over to the fridge and gazed forlornly at its contents. “There’s some mustard and bread. Eggs and milk, and um, I might have some pasta in the cupboard.”

Tom chuckled and clapped Chris on the shoulder. “What were we going to eat then? Air? Let’s go by the store, shall we? My treat. I’m not an amazing cook, but I can make a pretty good pasta.”

Chris grinned over his shoulder as he strode towards the door. “Deal. Coming?”

Tom beamed back as he started walking to the car, “Sounds fantastic.”

“It’s only a quarter mile back that way, so I figured that we’d just walk.”

The cool summer breeze was welcome on their skin as they strolled to the little mom&pop grocer’s. Tom picked up some fruits and vege, pasta, and cheese. Chris hefted a 6 pack of beer in the direction of the grocery cart. “I suppose it’s classier to drink wine but I prefer beer. This ok?”

“Fine by me. I just need to pick up some dessert and then we’ll be all set.”

“Sounds good.”

As Tom was grabbing a pint of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer, Chris navigated around him and commandeered the shopping cart. He steered it towards the cashier, and they casually fell into step.

“Hey Chris! How’s it going? Don’t see you here often,” the young cashier enthusiastically gushed while batting her eyelashes coquettishly.

“Uhm, yeah. Not much of a cook,” Chris mumbled as he reached into his pocket for his wallet.

“Oh no. I insist on paying,” Tom said, as he pushed Chris’ hand away gently, lingering for a second too long.

“You sure, man?”

“Yeah definitely. You can grab dinner next time if you want, but I insist on cooking for you tonight. It’s really the least I can do since you were nice enough to help me out with my car.”

The two smiled shyly at each other, as Molly jumped in with, “Oh? Car troubles? Where are you staying? You checked in at the motel down Oak Street?”

Tom looked quizzically at Chris, who shuffled his feet and was studiously avoiding eye contact. Then, Tom turned back to the cashier and said, “No. Actually staying with him.”

“Yeah, Molly. He’s an old friend. Anyways, see you later,” Chris said, turning and grabbing the two bags.

As Tom jogged out the door after Chris, he called over his shoulder, “Um, thanks. It was nice to meet you.”

After a block, Chris paused and turned to Tom. He sheepishly scratched his head and gave Tom a contrite look. “Guess I should explain. Yeah, there’s a motel in town, but it’s a total piece of shit and the guy who owns it is a total creep. And I figured it was no trouble for you to stay with me. And probably safer too…Sorry for not being completely honest. Thought I’d just cut out a couple steps for you.”

Tom showered Chris with what he hoped was his most reassuring smile. “Yeah, no problem at all. Honestly, I’m happy for the company. I’ve done enough resting at cockroach-infested motels. It’s nice to be in a real house with a kitchen where I can do some proper cooking. It’s no problem at all.”

Chris visibly relaxed and slowed his gait as well. “Glad you’re not mad, mate.”

“Oh no. Not at all. Now give me one of those grocery bags. Let me help out.”

“Not a chance. That would make me even worse of a host than I am already being. Besides, bet you can’t even catch me,” Chris whooped, as he took off running in the direction of his house.

Tom chuckled as he followed suit, “Hey! No fair. I already jogged like fifteen miles today.”

At the gate, Chris turned to crow his victory over Tom. “This means that I’m not cooking, and I’m not washing the dishes.”

Tom playfully socked Chris in the shoulder, “If I knew those were the stakes, then I would have run harder. Besides, you’re more familiar with this town than I am. That’s cheating.”

“Don’t think there’s anything terribly complicated about running straight.”

“Haha. Yeah. It is a pretty small town. How did you end up here anyways? Did you grow up here?”

“Yeah kind of. This is my dad’s old house,” Chris replied as he unlocked the front door, and they walked to the kitchen.

Rubbing his hands, Tom said, “Man. I’m starving. Let’s get started. Can you get a pot of water boiling?”

“Little do you know, that is one of my two specialties. Putting bread in the toaster and boiling water. You’re in luck.” Chris tucked his hair into a little bun, washed his hands, and filled a pot.

Tom chopped up tomatoes, pepperoncini, and spinach to add to the pasta sauce. They moved around each other flawlessly in the kitchen, as if they had been cooking together their whole life. Chris reached over Tom’s head to grab pasta out of a box and threw it into the pot, checking the time on his watch after he put it in. Tom ducked under Chris’ arm to throw ingredients into a pan and simmer it with some marinara sauce. Chris opened the cupboard to his right to point out the spices, and Tom threw in basil and some s&p.

Stirring with the spoon, Tom lifted some sauce out of the pan, blew on it, tried some, and then held it up to Chris for inspection. Locking eyes with Tom, Chris lowered his head and closed his mouth over the spoon. “Perfect.”

Clearing his throat, Tom laughed nervously, “Ehehehe. Great. Well, let’s add it to the pasta and eat, shall we?”

Chris grabbed plates out of the cupboards, and Tom spooned pasta and sauce onto them. “Let’s sit on the couch, eh? It’s more comfy.”

“Sounds good to me,” Tom replied as they navigated towards the red couch in the living room.

“So, why acting?”

“I always loved doing impressions as a kid. And I thought that movies were incredible. The way that they manage to take you and immerse you in a completely different world, even if it’s only for a few hours. And I just wanted to be a part of that world. I started off with doing plays. I’m actually a bit of a Shakespeare nerd.”

“Oh? Like ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother’?”

Tom looked up at Chris, startled. “Uhm yes. Actually, that’s from one of my favourites. Henry the Fifth.”

“Yeah. I always liked history. Reading about ancient kings and knights. Fighting for honor, valor, that kind of shit was awesome.”

“Oh? Did you study history in uni then?”

“Uni?”

“Ah yes. Um, you call it college in the States?”

“Oh. I never finished college. Had to start working. Did a stint as a mechanic. Hence the car skills.”

“Ah. How did you end up here then? Nostalgic for old haunts?”

“Something like that. Hey listen, want to figure out what this town is called Bluewater?”

“Probably something about there being water. And it being blue in color,” Tom cheekily responded.

“Smartass. We’ve got one of the most beautiful lakes and it’s great on a night like this. C’mon, we might even catch some fireflies.”

“Sure. Sounds good. What else are we going to do, right?”

Tom followed Chris out through the woods. “Hey! Slow down. This isn’t where I grew up. It’s hard to follow you in the dark.”

Chris turned and taunted, “Oh? Want to hold on to my hand then?”

Catching up, Tom playfully pushed Chris. “No. I’ll be fine as long as you stay in sight.”

“Well we’re almost there anyways. Look, there’s the pier.”

They walked up to the clearing, drinking in the vista of the lake surrounded by pines with a few boats bobbing listlessly in the distance. “So you promised me fireflies, and I certainly don’t see any. I’m definitely lodging complaints against you as a boarder,” Tom teased.

“Well, you’ll be singing a different tune as soon as you’re swimming. The water is great, fireflies or no,” Chris replied, pulling his shirt off his shoulders in a smooth motion.

Tom’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Chris kick off his shoes and shrug out of his pants and boxers. “You coming in or what?” Chris taunted as he started wading into the water.

“Ehm. Yes. Of course, just one second.” Tom unlaced his shoes, took off his shirt and folded it neatly on top of his shoes. He started undoing the zip on his pants and looked up to see Chris eyeing him from waist-deep in the water. He hoped that the moonlight was not bright enough for Chris to see the bright vermillion shade that surely graced his cheeks. He shucked off his pants and boxer briefs in a smooth motion and then ran to join Chris in the water. “Fuck! This is so cold. You’re such a liar.”

“Don’t be a baby. You’ll get used it,” Chris responded as he started to tread in deeper, sending obsidian ripples off around him in all directions.

Tom gritted his teeth and followed him in. “Little do you know, I actually used to be on swim team when I studied at Eton, so I could probably best you in a contest here.”

Chuckling, Chris responded, “Deal. Let’s race out to those boats and back.”

They both powered off, powerful freestyle strokes towards to the bobbing boats in the distance. With his head start, Chris was winning. Tom decided this meant that he had to play dirty. When Chris turned around after reaching the boats, Tom intercepted his course and they crashed in a tangle of limbs.

Sputtering up through the surface, Chris looked around frantically and called out, “You ok? That was dangerous. Don’t do that.”

Tom reached out for Chris’ arm, “Don’t worry. I was totally fine. Just my pride wouldn’t allow me to lose twice in a row.”

“Well, if you wanted to win that badly, you should have just asked nicely.”

“Hahaha. Well that’s cheating. I don’t want to win that way.”

“And careening into me isn’t cheating?”

Tom looked bashfully up towards Chris and caught his fixed stare. Losing his train of thought, Tom just smiled fondly at Chris. Treading closer, Chris reached an arm out of the water to touch Tom’s cheek. “You know how beautiful you are?”

Looking away but unconsciously leaning into Chris’ touch, Tom nervously responded, “Ehehe. Well men aren’t really supposed to be beautiful…”

“No, you really are,” Chris said, while gently stroking his thumb across Tom’s cheekbone.

“Well, you’re hardly bad looking yourself,” Tom responded as he raised his gaze.

“Going to take advantage of that compliment then,” Chris muttered as he closed the distance between them to hesitantly push a kiss onto Tom’s lips. Tom leaned into the kiss and gently parted his lips. They wrapped around each other and sighed into each other. Tom broke apart first and smiled at Chris, “So should we take this on shore? Though can’t say I’ve ever made out with someone in the middle of a lake.”

“Haha yeah. Sounds good.”

They slowly paddled out to the border of the lake and shared another lingering kiss before grabbing their clothing. As they walked back towards Chris’ house, Chris casually slipped Tom’s hand into his.


	3. Chapter 3

Slipping between soft sheets, Tom tumbled onto the bed with Chris soon to follow. Chris wrapped a strong arm around Tom’s waist and shifted both of them further up on the bed. Legs tangling, they luxuriated in slow kisses. Chris’ hands shifted indecisively between wrapping around soft locks and smoothing down his smooth expanse of back. Chris murmured into Tom’s mouth, “Never have I been so happy about a car breaking down.”

Tom chuckled and responded, “If I had known this was to come, I would have gladly sabotaged my car myself.”

Chris kissed his way down Tom’s collarbone, tugging up on Tom’s shirt and lifting his head long enough only to pull it off. “I don’t understand why you felt the need to redress for the short walk back,” Chris mumbled, punctuating every word with a hungry kiss, tracing down towards Tom’s nipple, and the last word with a quick nip of his teeth.

Tom sighed lustfully and arched languorously upwards. “Well, it’d look a little strange to see two buck naked men walking in the woods…”

“Everyone else can be damned.”

“Though now you have the dubious pleasure of getting to undress me yourself.”

“Oh, it’s a definite pleasure,” Chris grinned, as he deftly unzipped Tom’s pants and palmed his erection. “Mmm. And not just for me.”

Tom grinned, propping his weight on his elbows to look down at Chris through heavy-lidded, long-lashed eyes. Chris tongued his rather prominent bulge through the fabric of his boxers. Tom sighed in appreciation and let his head fall back.

Chris slowly slid Tom’s boxers down and traced his tongue down the length of his hip. His breath ghosted briefly over Tom’s member before languishing attention on his other hip. “Oh you tease,” Tom breathed as he tried to shift his weight to bring more pressing matters to Chris’ attention.

In response, Chris merely settled his arms down on Tom’s hips, a touch shy of bruising and bit hard on the inside of his thigh. Looking up at Tom, he smirked before taking Tom into his mouth. Groaning loudly, Tom thrust upwards into the wet heat of Chris’ mouth. Chris’ hand snaked upwards to sink fingers into Tom’s mouth. Tom groaned around the fingers and tongued the welcome intrusions in a facsimile of the attention being administered to him. Tom’s eyes reverently fell shut as his world narrowed to just the two of them breathing heavily upon the bed. He managed to gasp out under Chris’ ministrations, “Wait. I want to come with you…in me.”

“Fuck.” Chris groaned throatily around Tom, the hum pleasurably searing straight to Tom’s brain. He dragged himself upward to look into Tom’s eyes.

Tom shivered under his intense gaze and reached a hand up to caress Chris’ cheek. “Don’t look at me like that. You have no idea what it does to me.”

Chris’ response was a barely audible growl. “You have no idea what you do to me.” 

Tom responded by circling fingers around Chris’ member and giving it a few leisurely strokes. “I have some idea.”

Chris went slack-jawed and shook his head to clear it. “You are incorrigible.” He reached over Tom to quickly fumble in his nightstand. He slicked his fingers with lube and grinned mischievously. He hefted Tom’s legs over his shoulders in a smooth sweep while he leaned down to plunder Tom’s mouth.

Tom bit down on Chris’ lip and drew a guttural moan. Chris slowly traced a finger around his entrance before staunchly pushing in. Tom arched off the mattress, grabbing feebly at the sheets lying around him. 

“You ok?”

“Yeah. Just haven’t…done this in a while.”

A pause and then a chuckle. “Well, glad to be the bad influence.”

Chris paused before pushing in a second finger, flexing and stretching his fingers within to the beat of Tom’s keening whines. He slowly explored with intrepid thoroughness before encountering a nub that made Tom’s vision flash white and his toes curl. Tom gasped out between shaky breaths, “You. are. going. entirely….too slow.” 

“Would you rather lead them,” Chris chuckled.

“The Lord in Heaven, yes.” Tom rolled Chris onto his back and fumbled around in the sheets until his fingers clasped upon the jar of lube sitting next to the condom. He unwrapped the condom and slid it down Chris’ aching shaft. He scooped some lube out of the jar and slowly pumped Chris’ cock as he shifted himself above. Tom’s head fell back as he descended just enough for Chris’ head to be nested within. He continued to stroke the underside as he continued to lower himself onto Chris until he sat gasping with the fullness of Chris completely inside him. Then, he leaned over to pull roughly on Chris’ hair as he began to slowly writhe his hips, building up a maddening rhythm that had both of them moaning insatiably.

With a loud groan, Chris flipped Tom back over such that his chest nested against Tom’s back. He pulled all the way out to plunder ruthlessly back in; body taking over while his mind started shutting down on overdrive. He reached around to grab Tom’s aching member and rubbed a coarse thumb over his aching slit. Small needy noises wrested from Tom’s lips as he raised his ass to match Chris’ pounding. With a jolt and roll of his hips, Tom collapsed down into the sheets, attempting to muffle his ecstasy as he came. 

The sudden tightness around Chris’ shaft caused him to lose his steady beat, and his thrusts became more haphazard as he neared his own climax. As he tumbled over the edge, he bit down hard on the place where Tom’s neck joined his shoulder, before he fell limply forward. They both laid there for a while, panting from the fierceness of their exertions, before Chris pulled out of Tom with a gentle plop and reached down to take off the condom. He swept Tom into an embrace and Tom responded by sleepily nuzzling into his chest. As they drifted off to sleep, lulled by the sound of each other’s heartbeats, Tom mumbled, “Now I hope that stupid car part never arrives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. this is just…100% mansmut. and short. /has the good sense to look terribly embarrassed. Hopefully it’s not too terribly written and is bad in that filthy/smutty/good bad.


	4. Chapter 4

Tom blearily opened his eyes in the morning and quickly shut them in response to the bright shaft of light falling from the window. Groaning slightly, he lifted himself onto his elbows and glanced around. Where was he?

He was neatly tucked into the bed, and there was a human shaped hollow in the bed next to him. He reached out to touch it, and it was cold. The room was scantly furnished: a desk with some books, a couple of band posters, and that was about it. As he shifted to get off the bed, he winced slightly and moved his hand to his rear. Oof, he was definitely a little sore there. In a flash, it came back to him. The car breaking down, the handsome mechanic, the skinny-dipping that progressed to dipping between the sheets. He flushed scarlet. Could he have been any triter? And Chris had already left…surely he wanted Tom gone. He sighed, dropping his heavy head into his hands.

A soft voice interrupted his forlorn thoughts. “Hey mate, do you have a headache? I’ve got some Tylenol.”

Tom looked up to see Chris smiling lopsidedly at him. “I uh, brought us cereal. Like I said, not much of a cook. But you can choose from healthy adult cereal or Lucky Charms,” he said as he brandished two boxes of cereal.

“Oh. I thought you left,” Tom was unable to help himself from saying, immediately hating the lost puppy tone in his voice.

Chris’ eyes quickly creased into a frown as he strode across the room. “Oh no no. I just got a call this morning, and you were so adorable sleeping that I didn’t want to wake you. So I snuck out to take the call. And then I was up. And then wanted coffee. And then I was hungry. Figured you might be hungry and well…here we are.”

“Oh. I feel like a tit,” Tom said, earning a hearty chuckle from Chris. “The Lucky Charms. Haven’t had those in ages.”

“Sounds good,” Chris passed Tom the cereal, a bowl, and the carton of milk from the tray he was carrying.

Tom poured cereal in the bowl and then milk on top. As he raised his spoon preparing to eat, he looked up at Chris’ expectant face. “Hm?”

“You owe me a thanks for catering to you in bed first…” Chris murmured, leaning in to thoroughly kiss Tom.

Tom half-heartedly fought through Chris’ affections, “But wait, the cereal will get soggy!!”

“You can pour another bowl. I changed my mind about feeding you,” growled Chris, pushing Tom back onto the bed.

Tom wrapped long arms around Chris’ back and drew him deeply into a kiss. Breaking the kiss to look up at Chris, he admitted, “I’m a little sore still from last night, but…” Tom promisingly waggled his eyebrows as he used his long legs to flip Chris onto his back, “I would love to taste you.”

With a quick motion, he shifted down on the bed. Streaking a swiveling streak down Chris’ torso, he licked his way down to the band of Chris’ boxers. As Chris’ breath hitched, Tom slowly inched his boxers downward, following their path with gentle nips and languorous kisses.

Chris hauled himself up on his elbows so he could watch Tom’s ministrations. He looked down to meet twinkling green eyes and a decidedly smug smirk before Tom opened his mouth and took Chris in with one fell swoop. Head tilting back, Chris moaned his appreciation of Tom’s talented tongue. “Oh god, that…should be illegal.”

Tom hummed around Chris’ member in his mouth, lips straining to accommodate the fullness of Chris in his mouth. Pulling back, he swirled his tongue around Chris’ head before bobbing back down again. With a heady groan, Chris murmured to Tom, “I want you to touch yourself.”

Tom paused and lifted his head to speak, causing Chris to sigh from the sudden stop in stimulation. “How? Tell me.”

“Are you serious?”

The only response Chris got was an impatient quirk to Tom’s reddened lips.

“Fine. If that’s how you want to play it…I want you to plant that sexy mouth of yours back on me…” Chris broke off in a moan as Tom proceeded to do exactly that.

“And then, I want you to take me into your mouth slowly, inch by inch, while tonguing the underside of my cock. Ohhh yes. Just like that.”

“Grab yourself and circle your head with the palm of your hand.” Tom groaned around a mouth of Chris as he shifted to follow Chris’ orders.

“Now press down and stroke yourself. And I want you to gently scrape your nails against the underside as you come back up.”

“Rub your thumb firmly over your slit. Ah yes, shit. Don’t stop what you’re doing with your mouth.”

Chris closed his eyes, panting with the effort of having to form intelligible commands to Tom. “Just, fuck…ughhh.” Chris hefted himself to a sitting position and wrapped his hands in Tom’s hair, gently guiding him up and down his length. He watched Tom stroke himself with a sensuous languor, and it made Chris’ blood quicken faster still.

As he began to lose himself, his hips started to weakly thrust of their own accord into Tom’s mouth, gagging him slightly. Tom’s pace faltered and Chris’ hands pushed him all the way down until Tom’s nose rested flat against Chris. Tom wrung more groans out of Chris as he hummed around Chris’ length. “Oh god, I’m going to come, shit. Ugh.” Chris gasped as he quickly tried to tug Tom off.

In response, Tom moved his free hand to Chris’ hip to hold him in place. With a heady moan, Chris shot into Tom’s mouth, fingers clenching and unclenching in Tom’s hair. Diligently swallowing, Tom took almost all of it before letting Chris’ painfully sensitive member slide from his mouth.

“Come here,” Chris growled, crooking a finger at Tom who climbed up towards Chris on the bed.

He rolled Tom onto his back, capturing his slightly bruised mouth in a fierce kiss. Chris reached a hand down and circled Tom’s length, eliciting a keening sound as Tom dug fingers into Chris’ back. Chris moved his head down to worry at spots along Tom’s neck, kissing, biting and pulling none-too-gently with his lips. Stroking Tom with increasing speed, Chris quickly brought Tom to completion and the two of them laid spent in bed.

Both laid panting with exertion as weariness claimed their bodies. Chris scooped Tom into his arms, nuzzling into his neck and Tom allowed himself to be enveloped in Chris’ embrace. Smirking softly, he said, “Well, that bowl of cereal is definitely no longer edible, but for what it’s worth, that was the best game of Simon Says that I’ve ever played.”


	5. Chapter 5

Stretching blearily, Tom woke to the sound of Chris’ stomach rumbling. As he chuckled, he looked at Chris, “Hungry much?”

“Sleepy much?”

“Ehehe. Yeah. Guess I don’t get much of a chance to catch up on sleep normally. So what should we do for lunch since,” Tom quickly peeked over the edge of the bed, “the contents of that bowl should definitely no longer count as cereal.”

“Cheeseburgers. The local diner does great cheeseburgers. I could probably eat five; I’m starving.”

“Okay. Let’s go then.” Tom disentangled himself from Chris’ embrace and rose to look for his clothes that were scattered around the bed. “You planning on getting up?”

A chuckle was the response to his query. “And miss this view? Not a chance.”

Tom threw Chris’ shirt at him. “Stop taking the piss out of me. I thought you were the one hungry.”

Chris lumbered out of bed and swept Tom up in his arms for a quick kiss. “As you command.”

The two got dressed and headed out the door. Climbing into Chris’ pickup truck again, Tom turned towards Chris and asked, “The diner on the main street? Where Wendy works?”

Frowning slightly, Chris responded, “How do you know people’s names already?”

“Oh, I have always been good at remembering names.”

“Yeah. Anyways, that’s the one. There’s only one diner in town. If you haven’t noticed, this place is pretty small.”

“So, you studied history for a bit in uni, and then worked as a mechanic, and then came here?”

“Yeah. My old man was sick, and my mum and him have been divorced for ages. So he had no one to come take care of him. And then it’s just been simpler than living in the city, so I kind of ended up staying.”

“Oh? What city did you live in?”

“All over really. No place really felt like home. Just was never crazy about tons of people everywhere trying to ask questions about your life.”

“Sorry. Was just curious.”

“Oh didn’t mean that as a comment towards you.” Chris turned to Tom with a reassuring smile. “I don’t like when you’re forced to be nice to strangers. It’s exhausting, but it’s different with you.”

Tom reached over and squeezed Chris’ hand. “Soo…how long do you think you’re going to stay here?”

“Not sure. Didn’t really know where to go, so I never left. Ah. We’re here.” Chris parked the truck in the mostly empty lot, and they climbed out of the truck.

Striding into the diner, Chris sat down at a booth and waved the waitress over. “Three cheeseburgers and an oreo milkshake.”

Laughing, Tom turned towards Chris. “Is that all for you or are you sharing?”

“One of the cheeseburgers is for you, and if you ask very nicely, you can try some of my milkshake.”

The waitress shot Chris a quizzical look, “My, you’re feeling cheerful today. Three cheeseburgers coming right up. And the milkshake comes with what doesn’t fit in the glass in the shake container, so there will be plenty to share.”

Chris playfully looked innocently at Tom. “Plenty is definitely an exaggeration. When it comes to milkshakes, I am the opposite of generous.”

“The word you’re looking for is greedy.”

“Gee thanks. I’m not that much of an oaf.”

“Just trying to be helpful.” Tom stuck his tongue out at Chris.

Unthinkingly, Chris swallowed and flushed a bit, licking his own lips and remembering the events from a few hours ago. Catching Chris’ eye, Tom blushed in turn, and the two looked down at the table. Thankfully, the waitress came back to their table soon thereafter with their food. They tucked gratefully into their cheeseburgers, swiping fries into ketchup and taking large bites of their burgers. “Ah, you’ve got a bit here,” Chris said, leaning over the table to wipe the side of Tom’s mouth.

“Oh. How embarrassing.” Tom gave Chris a sheepish grin. “So, any chance I get to try some of that milkshake?”

====

“Wait. This isn’t the way to your house?”

“When did you catch on? When we’ve been driving far longer than ten minutes or when I turned off the main road.”

Tom turned crimson and protested defensively, “I wasn’t paying attention okay?”

“So what were you paying attention to?”

“Stop fishing for compliments. You obviously. So where are we going then?”

“Up to one of my favorite spots outside of town. We’re almost there. See, it’s just beyond that turn in the road.”

Tom peered dubiously out of the window, “I don’t know if I could call these roads…”

“Just because they’re not paved? Or cobbled as you do in England?”

“Ehehehe. We don’t just cobble roads and ride on horses you know. We Brits are perfectly capable of knowing how cement works too.”

With a shrug, Chris turned to Tom. “Well, I haven’t ever been to England so..”

“Oh. You should definitely come for a visit. Then I can show you around.”

“We’re as far as the road goes. We’ll get out and walk the rest of the way.” Chris said as he stopped the truck.

Chris started walking off towards the woods, and Tom scrambled to follow along what could not even be generously labeled as a path. “Is the honeymoon over? You taking me out to stab me to death now?”

“Hahaha. No such thing. That would just be a crying shame. We’re just going through this patch here and there’s a cliff just beyond.”

“Oh, got it. So you’re pushing me off a cliff?”

“Hardly. Though if you keep it up, I might have to employ means to keep your mouth shut.” Chris smirked at Tom.

Stopping suddenly, Chris stood near the edge of the cliff, and Tom walked into him. “Oh, are we there?”

“Yup. I love to come here to think and dangle my feet off the cliff.” Chris said as he eased his legs over the bluff and patted the ground next to him.

Before them, the forest stretched out as far as the eye could see, and they gazed down at the verdant canopy of trees. Tom leaned into Chris, and Chris threw his arm over Tom’s shoulder. And they sat, with the silence around them only punctuated by the sound of hawks crying as they wheeled above. Their wings practically still as they drifted on air currents.

“I’d love to fly.”

“Haha. Yeah it’d be cool. Not very possible though..”

“Actually…In films, they do this thing where they string you up on a wire, normally in front of a green screen. And while you’re totally aware that you’re being held up by wires, it’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to flying. It’s actually a disproportionate amount of fun to how ridiculous you look. Makes you feel like a total kid.”

“Are you aware of how terribly charming you are?” Chris turned to face Tom.

“Ehehehe. I’m not sure that’s entirely true.”

“Oh no. It definitely is,” Chris said as he pushed Tom gently down onto the ground. “And now all I can think about is taking you again. Those noises you made last night, by Odin’s beard, were sexier than any sound should ever be.”

“Chris, stop. We can’t have sex here…what if we fall off?” Tom said, halfheartedly batting Chris’ hands away.

“I would never let any harm come to you.”

“It’s just…well…I don’t have any fear of heights, but looking at the ground stop is just dizzying. Especially since I don’t exactly trust myself to be very coordinated when well…I’m…distracted.”

“Okay fair maiden. To the pickup bed then,” Chris teased as he scooped Tom up and threw him over his shoulder as he strode quickly to the truck.

Tom struggled against Chris’ hold. “Stop it! Don’t carry me like this.”

In response, Chris only tightened his grip and continued walking towards the car.

“Fine. I can try a different tactic then.” Tom snaked his arm around to Chris’ front to stroke the growing bulge at the front of his pants.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the tremble in his knees, Chris held out until they reached the truck and set Tom down. “You are terrible.”

“Says the one determined to ravish me,” Tom responded with a languorous smirk.

“Well, it’s hardly my fault you’re so enticing.” Chris climbed up into the truck bed as well and smoothed back Tom’s hair. He gently kissed Tom and then deepened the kiss, sucking on Tom’s lower lip.

Tom urgently pulled up on Chris’ shirt while responding to his kisses. They broke away long enough to pull Chris’ shirt off. Panting slightly, Tom gazed at Chris through lowered lashes. “Can I…take you instead this time?”

“Oh god. I don’t think I could deny you anything.”

Tom flipped them over such that he was straddling Chris’ hips. He slowly kissed his way down Chris’ chest, paying extra attention to his slightly reddened nipples. In response to a particularly sudden twist, Chris moaned loudly. “Oh. So you like it a little rougher huh?” Chris could feel Tom smirking against his skin as Tom teased him. The rest of Tom’s descent was marked by love bites and Chris had absolutely no objections.

Reaching his pants, Tom made quick work of undoing his belt and popped the top button of Chris’ fly. With a knowing smirk, Tom leaned over and used his teeth to pull down on Chris’ zipper, breathing heavily over his erection straining in his boxers. “Mmmm. Thanks for the present.”

Chris lifted his hips to help Tom divest him of his pants and quickly shimmied out of them. “So…anything, I can use?”

“Huh?” Chris responded, brain foggy with want.

“You know, for lubrication?”

“Oh..um… Yeah, in the right pocket. I brought some lube and condoms.”

“Ever the boy scout huh?” Tom said, reaching for Chris’ pants and fumbling around in the pocket. “Flip over. I want to see you on your knees.”

With a groan, Chris turned over and presented himself to Tom. “Ehehehe. That is quite a lovely view,” Tom whispered as he leaned over and kissed Chris on the bum. Popping the top of the lube off, he squeezed some onto his fingers.

Tom’s tongue flicked over Chris’ hole as his breath misted over. With a sudden start, Tom thrusted his tongue into Chris’ opening, forcing a stuttering gasp out of Chris. Chris’ back arched as he tried to shove himself against the delightful things that Tom’s mouth was doing. Tom leaned back for a second and Chris rested his head against the cool metal of the truck bed, trying to catch his breath before Tom progressed.

A wet finger traced his entrance, circling lazily once, twice, before pushing in with a faintly wet plop. Tom pushed his finger in as he stooped down to resume licking at Chris’ hole, wringing noises of mindless pleasure from Chris. He added a second finger and then a third, crooking them within Chris’ heat and searching for the spot that makes Chris’ vision dance with stars.

“Oh god. Just….I can’t…” Chris panted as he spreads his legs further, wantonly thrusting back onto Tom’s fingers in time. As Tom pushed against his prostrate, his tongue flicked between his fingers to tease the sensitive skin at his opening and Chris nearly went crazy with need. “Please…I need you now.”

Removing his fingers, Tom continued his ministrations with his tongue. Chris could hear the bottle popping open again and Tom’s sharp intake of breath as he slicked his own member. “You sure you’re ready?” Tom asks as he positioned himself behind Chris.

Chris attempted to push himself backwards, “Yes. Yes. I need you now. Fuck me.”

Tom pushed himself in slowly until he bottomed out, and then he started picking up speed. His fingers pressed deeply into Chris’ hips as he thrusted forward, slamming in and out of Chris as they both groaned with how much they both needed this moment.

“Please…I’m so close..” Chris managed to gasp out, writhing under Tom.

Leaning forward to bite on Chris’ ear, Tom whispered, “Then come for me” as his hand snaked around Chris’ member to lovingly stroke him.

Chris didn't know what sent him over the edge. Whether it was the feeling of Tom hitting his sweet spot or Tom’s ragged breathing in his ear or the feeling of him pressed against his back as they move in concert or the strong strokes along his length, but when he came, he felt like he had fallen headlong off a cliff. And coming down, as his body was still thrumming, he felt Tom spend himself as well with a tired cry, and they both collapsed in a heap on the truck bed.

Scooping Tom into a weary embrace, he nuzzled against his ear. “Wow. That was amazing.”

A sleepy murmur was all he got in response. Lifting an arm to grab the blanket from the back of the truck, Chris threw it over the two of them, closed his eyes, and surrendered to the sleepiness drifting over his body.

By the time he opened his eyes again, Tom was still sound asleep against his chest and the stars were twinkling up in the sky. He shifted in the uncomfortable pickup, careful not to disturb Tom, and fell back asleep again.

====

When they returned in the morning, rubbing achy backs that were tired from a night of sleeping in decidedly unfavorable conditions, a box was sitting on Chris’ stoop. When they walked in, Chris used his keys to open the box and revealed the fan belt that he ordered.

Tom clapped his hands and showered Chris with a huge smile. “Great! Now I can make my audition in time.”

With a sheepish smile, Chris turned to Tom and admitted, “Actually, it’s not the right fan belt.”

“Sorry what?”

“Well, I just found you so cute that I wanted to keep you around for a bit… And I figured you didn’t know enough about cars to know the difference.”

“Oh.”

“But now I feel bad because you’re clearly so excited about this audition.”

“No no, it’s fine. I’m having such a good time with you here and it’s really been lovely…” Tom trailed off, sad to be missing a potential acting opportunity.

“No. Isn’t the audition tomorrow? We can still make it in time. Here I’ll drive us. Let me go grab a change of clothes.” Chris said decisively as he started heading up the stairs.

“Wait, are you sure?” Tom called after Chris as he bounded up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

“Yeah definitely.” Chris reappeared a minute later, holding a duffel bag in one hand. “Let’s grab your suitcase from the trunk and throw it in the truck bed. Then we’ll be on our way. Besides, it’s about time I left this town anyways…”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there really isn’t anything holding me here, and now I have the best reason to leave.” Chris said with a soft smile.

Tom held his breath and looked up at Chris, “And that is…”

“You, of course.” Chris said, leaning down for a kiss as he took Tom’s hand, and they walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed. apologies about Tom’s car…or rather Tom’s friend’s car…I stopped caring about it other than a thin pretense of a plot device.
> 
> also i/r/t gifset creator's wish that they live happily ever after, additional fic drabble:
> 
> and yes. they totally live happily ever after. in my headcanon for this AU, they end up moving in together and since Chris likes to travel, he doesn’t mind moving around with Tom. Most of the year, they live in London, which Chris unexpectedly loves and then picks up surfing because it’s close enough to the ocean for a relatively quick drive. They get along fantastically and only occasionally argue.
> 
> Tom gets mad at Chris for silly things like using his soap (come on Chris! We each have our own soap for a reason) and normally blows off steam for going for a quick jog. When he gets back, Chris waits for him by candlelight and gives him a massage, which always leads into awesome makeup sex.
> 
> And Chris so so rarely gets mad at Tom, mainly if Tom is being dumb about taking care of his own health when he picks up too many acting gigs. He gets upset when Tom has skipped too many meals or when it’s obvious that he’s had just too many cups of coffee to keep going, and Tom makes up by making both of them dinner and then eating the bigger portion. Chris is well-aware that Tom just does this to appease him but it makes him so happy to know that Tom is eating right, even if it’s only for one meal.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is in reference to the distance b/w LA and Sante Fe (according to google maps).


End file.
